Methods to map cif and serving cells

ABSTRACT

A method comprises configuring a wireless device with a plurality of carriers, each of the plurality of carriers comprising a communication channel between the wireless device and one of the network node or another wireless device, and grouping the configured carriers into at least a first group and a second group. The method comprises associating each of the configured carriers of the first group with one of a plurality of possible carrier indicator field values, and associating each of the configured carriers of the second group with one of the plurality of possible carrier indicator field values. The method comprises communicating, to the wireless device on a first carrier of either the first or second groups, information related to a particular carrier in the same group as the first carrier, wherein the particular carrier is identified by its associated carrier indicator field value.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of patent application Ser. No.15/150,779, filed May 10, 2016, which claims the benefit underProvisional Application 62/162,052 filed on May 15, 2015, the entiredisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates, in general, to wireless communicationsand, more particularly, to methods to map carrier indicator fields andserving cells.

BACKGROUND

Carrier aggregation (CA) was initially introduced in Release 10 toincrease the available bandwidth and hence the achievable data rate in aLong Term Evolution (LTE) system up to 1 Gbps in downlink (DL) and 500Mbps in uplink (UL). This is accomplished by aggregating multiplecomponent carriers (CCs) that can be jointly used for UL and/or DLtransmissions both in Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time DivisionDuplex (TDD) configurations. In particular, LTE CA considers thepossibility to aggregate up to 5 CCs potentially of different bandwidths(e.g., 1.4 MHz, 3 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, 20 MHz), thus pushing themaximum aggregated bandwidth to 100 MHz. A key feature of CA is that theaggregation can take place across CCs that are not necessarilycontiguous in frequency at the expense of additional user equipment (UE)complexity. As such, operators possessing a fragmented spectrum canstill boost the achievable data rate even though they are not providedwith a large enough single wideband carrier.

The introduction of CA has the side effect of increasing UE batterypower consumption because a UE needs to monitor in parallel multiple DLcarriers and also multiplex transmissions over multiple UL carriers.This problem may become even more severe in cases of inter-band carrieraggregation where CCs are not located within the same operatingfrequency band, and the UE is required to execute multiplereceiver/transmitter chains simultaneously. For this reason, CA istypically activated/deactivated by the network on a UE basis in adynamic fashion according to some specific rules, such as the DL/ULtraffic demands, the channel quality, or some load balancing policiesthat force the UE to move to some specific carriers.

More specifically, a CA-capable UE can be provided with a primarycarrier (PCell) and one or more secondary carriers (SCell), where eachcarrier looks like a cell with its own physical identity. According to3GPP, some operations are supposed to be handled only by the PCell(e.g., the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) Uplink ControlInformation (UCI) transmissions, the Contention Based Random Access(CBRA), the Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, and the Non-AccessStratum (NAS) information). The selection of PCell and SCell(s) is alsoUE specific, and similar strategies previously described can be adoptedto select the PCell and the SCell(s).

An extension of legacy CA functionality is currently understandardization in 3GPP Release 13. The objective of this enhancement isto increase the amount of supported CCs up to 32 to give additionalflexibility to the CA settings. For example, one possible setup could beto combine this new feature with a License Assisted Access (LAA)framework, thereby providing the possibility to aggregate unlicensed CCs(e.g., Wi-Fi bands) together with licensed carriers for a maximum numberof 32 aggregated CCs.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of cross-carrier scheduling. Cross-carrierscheduling is one important feature of CA. It is possible withcross-carrier scheduling to send DL scheduling assignments and ULscheduling grants on Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) from adifferent CC than the one actually scheduled. FIG. 1 illustrates anumber of CCs, including PCell 5, SCell1 10, and SCe112 15. Each CCcarrier includes a PDCCH portion 20 and a data portion 25. As shown inthe example of FIG. 1, PDCCH portion 20 of PCell 5 includes DLscheduling assignments and/or UL scheduling grants for SCell1 10 andSCell2 15 (indicated by arrows 30 and 35, respectively). As such, PDSCHand PUSCH can be sent on a CC other than the one on which the relatedPDCCH has been received. This is in contrast to the scenario withoutcross-carrier scheduling (illustrated by arrow 40). Different benefitscan be envisaged for this feature. As one example, cross-carrierscheduling may allow balancing of the inter-cell interference caused bythe PDCCH. As another example, cross-carrier scheduling may be used forload balancing purposes (especially taking into account that the sizeand the bandwidth of the different deployed carriers can besignificantly different).

The cross-carrier scheduling mechanism can be enabled/disabledindependently for each CC via RRC signaling. The cross-carrierscheduling mechanism leverages a 3-bit Carrier Indicator Field (CIF)carried by a PDCCH. This CIF indicates to which carrier a certain DLscheduling assignment or UL scheduling grant refers. A CIF having a sizeof 3 bits can take on 8 different values. Thus, with the 3-bit CIF, amaximum of 8 carriers can be cross-carrier scheduled. In addition toindicating which carrier a certain DL scheduling assignment or ULscheduling grant refers, the CIF can also be used in other scenarios.For example, the CIF can be used for PDCCH order to order a UE toperform Contention Free Random Access (CFRA) on a particular carrier.

As described above, the 3-bit CIF can be used in PDCCH for cross-carrierscheduling. With the current CIF size, it is not possible to addressmore than 8 carriers. Before 3GPP Release 13, this limitation was not aproblem since no more than 5 carriers can be aggregated. In 3GPP Release13, however, the amount of carriers that can be aggregated will increaseto 32. The 3-bit size of CIF therefore limits the cross-carrierscheduling capability in 3GPP Release 13. Similar limitations hold forother cases in which CIF is used, such as in the case of PDCCH orderingdescribed above.

One possible approach to the problem posed by increasing the number ofcarriers that can be aggregated is to increase the length of the CIF to5 bits in order to accommodate all of the 32 possible carriers. Such anapproach, however, has the side effect of increasing the PDCCH size andimplies resource wastage in case not all the 32 carriers are configured.Furthermore, there is the issue of whether there is a need to supportthe case where all 32 CCs are scheduled by a single CC. In addition, theDL control channel capacity limitation and (E)PDCCH/PHICHblocking/collision needs to be resolved if this is deemed to besupported.

Based at least in part on these reasons, 3GPP has agreed to not changethe size of the CIF and to keep using the 3-bit CIF in Release 13. Thus,there is a need for new mechanisms that can allow cross-carrierscheduling of more than 8 carriers without changing the size of the CIF.

SUMMARY

To address the foregoing problems with existing approaches, disclosed isa method in a network node. The method comprises configuring a wirelessdevice with a plurality of carriers, each of the plurality of carrierscomprising a communication channel between the wireless device and oneof the network node or another wireless device. The method comprisesgrouping the configured carriers into at least a first group and asecond group. The method comprises associating each of the configuredcarriers of the first group with one of a plurality of possible carrierindicator field values such that each of the configured carriers of thefirst group has a different carrier indicator field value than otherconfigured carriers in the first group, and associating each of theconfigured carriers of the second group with one of the plurality ofpossible carrier indicator field values such that each of the configuredcarriers of the second group has a different carrier indicator fieldvalue than other configured carriers in the second group. The methodcomprises communicating, to the wireless device on a first carrier ofeither the first or second groups, information related to a particularcarrier in the same group as the first carrier, wherein the particularcarrier is identified by its associated carrier indicator field value.

In certain embodiments, the information may comprise one or more of: adownlink scheduling assignment for the particular carrier; an uplinkscheduling grant for the particular carrier; a sidelink grant for theparticular carrier; and an order to perform contention free randomaccess on the particular carrier.

In certain embodiments, the method may comprise communicating, to thewireless device, the carrier indicator field value associated with eachof the configured carriers of the first and second groups. The carrierindicator field value associated with each of the configured carriers ofthe first and second groups may be communicated via radio resourcecontrol signaling. In certain embodiments, the method may comprisecommunicating, to the wireless device, information indicating which ofthe configured carriers belong to the first group and which of theconfigured carriers belong to the second group, the communicatedinformation further comprising the carrier indicator field valueassociated with each of the configured carriers of the first and secondgroups.

In certain embodiments, the method may comprise associating each of theconfigured carriers of the first group with one of a plurality ofpossible cell index values, and associating each of the configuredcarriers of the second group with one of the plurality of possible cellindex values. The method may comprise configuring the wireless device toidentify a carrier indicator field value for the particular carrierbased on the cell index value of the particular carrier. In certainembodiments, at least one of the configured carriers may be associatedwith a particular one of the plurality of possible carrier indicatorfield values based on one or more characteristics of the at least onecarrier. The one or more characteristics may comprise one or more of:whether the at least one carrier is configured with a physical uplinkcontrol channel; and whether the at least one carrier is a schedulingcell.

Also disclosed is a network node. The network node comprises one or moreprocessors. The one or more processors are configured to configure awireless device with a plurality of carriers, each of the plurality ofcarriers comprising a communication channel between the wireless deviceand one of the network node or another wireless device, and group theconfigured carriers into at least a first group and a second group. Theone or more processors are configured to associate each of theconfigured carriers of the first group with one of a plurality ofpossible carrier indicator field values such that each of the configuredcarriers of the first group has a different carrier indicator fieldvalue than other configured carriers in the first group, and toassociate each of the configured carriers of the second group with oneof the plurality of possible carrier indicator field values such thateach of the configured carriers of the second group has a differentcarrier indicator field value than other configured carriers in thesecond group. The one or more processors are configured to communicate,to the wireless device on a first carrier of either the first or secondgroups, information related to a particular carrier in the same group asthe first carrier, wherein the particular carrier is identified by itsassociated carrier indicator field value.

Also disclosed is a method in a wireless device. The method comprisesreceiving, from a network node on a first carrier of either a firstgroup of configured carriers or a second group of configured carriers,information related to a particular carrier in the same group as thefirst carrier, wherein the wireless device is configured with aplurality of carriers, each of the plurality of carriers comprising acommunication channel between the wireless device and one of the networknode or another wireless device, and the particular carrier isassociated with one of a plurality of possible carrier indicator fieldvalues. The method comprises determining, based on the first carrier onwhich the information was received, whether the first carrier belongs tothe first group of configured carriers or the second group of configuredcarriers. The method comprises identifying, based on the determinedgroup that the first carrier belongs to and the carrier indicator fieldvalue associated with the particular carrier, one of the plurality ofconfigured carriers as the particular carrier.

In certain embodiments, the information may comprise one or more of: adownlink scheduling assignment for the particular carrier; an uplinkscheduling grant for the particular carrier; a sidelink grant for theparticular carrier; and an order to perform contention free randomaccess on the particular carrier.

In certain embodiments, the method may comprise receiving, from thenetwork node, information indicating which one of a plurality ofpossible carrier indicator field values is associated with each of theconfigured carriers of the first and second groups, and identifying oneof the plurality of carriers as the particular carrier may be based onthe received information. The carrier indicator field value associatedwith each of the configured carriers of the first and second groups maybe received via radio resource control signaling. In certainembodiments, the method may comprise receiving, from the network node,information indicating which of the plurality of configured carriersbelong to the first group and which of the configured carriers belong tothe second group, the received information further comprising thecarrier indicator field value associated with each of the configuredcarriers of the first and second groups. Identifying one of theplurality of carriers as the particular carrier may be based on thereceived information.

In certain embodiments, each of the configured carriers of the first andsecond groups may be associated with one of a plurality of possible cellindex values, and the method may comprise associating each carrier ofthe first and second groups with one of a plurality of possible carrierindicator field values based on the cell index value associated witheach carrier, and identifying one of the plurality of configuredcarriers as the particular carrier may be based on the cell indicatorfield value associated with each carrier based on the cell index value.In certain embodiments, associating each carrier of the first and secondgroups with one of the plurality of possible carrier indicator fieldvalues based on the cell index value associated with each carrier maycomprise associating a carrier having a lowest numerical cell indexvalue of each of the first and second groups with a lowest numericalcarrier indicator field value, and associating additional carriers ofeach of the first and second groups with one of the plurality ofpossible cell indicator field values such that each additional carrierhaving a next lowest numerical cell index value is associated with anext lowest numerical carrier indicator field value. In certainembodiments, associating each carrier of the first and second groupswith one of the plurality of possible carrier indicator field valuesbased on the cell index value associated with each carrier may compriseassociating a carrier having a highest numerical cell index value ofeach of the first and second groups with a lowest numerical carrierindicator field value, and associating additional carriers of each ofthe first and second groups with one of the plurality of possible cellindicator field values such that each additional carrier having a nexthighest numerical cell index value is associated with a next lowestnumerical carrier indicator field value.

Also disclosed is a wireless device. The wireless device comprises oneor more processors. The one or more processors are configured toreceive, from a network node on a first carrier of either a first groupof configured carriers or a second group of configured carriers,information related to a particular carrier in the same group as thefirst carrier, wherein the wireless device is configured with aplurality of carriers, each of the plurality of carriers comprising acommunication channel between the wireless device and one of the networknode or another wireless device, and the particular carrier isassociated with one of a plurality of possible carrier indicator fieldvalues. The one or more processors are configured to determine, based onthe first carrier on which the information was received, whether thefirst carrier belongs to the first group of configured carriers or thesecond group of configured carriers. The one or more processors areconfigured to identify, based on the determined group that the firstcarrier belongs to and the carrier indicator field value associated withthe particular carrier, one of the plurality of configured carriers asthe particular carrier.

Certain embodiments of the present disclosure may provide one or moretechnical advantages. As one example, certain embodiments mayadvantageously enable cross-carrier scheduling or other operationsinvolving transfer of carrier indicator field values to a wirelessdevice to be performed on more than 8 serving cells while still relyingon the existing 3-bit carrier indicator field size. As another example,even keeping the legacy carrier indicator field size, the variousembodiments may advantageously enable cross-carrier schedulingflexibility to be fully exploited over all the 32 carriers that can beconfigured. As still another example, in addition to cross-carrierscheduling, similar benefits may be achieved for other scenarios inwhich carrier indicator field values need to be transferred to awireless device, such as for Physical Downlink Control Channel order,which also uses the carrier indicator field to order the wireless deviceto perform contention free random access on a particular carrier. As yetanother example, in certain embodiments an implicit mapping may beemployed that may advantageously result in reduced signaling overhead asthe network node does not need to explicitly communicate a mappingindicator. Other advantages may be readily apparent to one having skillin the art. Certain embodiments may have none, some, or all of therecited advantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments and theirfeatures and advantages, reference is now made to the followingdescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of cross-carrier scheduling;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example embodiment of a wireless communicationsnetwork, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates one way of implementing explicit mapping using radioresource control signaling, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an event flow for establishing a mapping betweencarrier indicator field and component carriers, in accordance withcertain embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method in a network node, in accordancewith certain embodiments;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method in a wireless device, in accordancewith certain embodiments;

FIG. 7 is a block schematic of an exemplary wireless device, inaccordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 8 is a block schematic of an exemplary network node, in accordancewith certain embodiments;

FIG. 9 is a block schematic of an exemplary radio network controller orcore network node, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 10 is a block schematic of an exemplary wireless device, inaccordance with certain embodiments; and

FIG. 11 is a block schematic of an exemplary network node, in accordancewith certain embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As described above, the CIF may be used in PDCCH for cross-carrierscheduling. With the current CIF size of 3 bits, however, it is notpossible to address more than 8 carriers. This will limit thecross-carrier scheduling capability once the amount of carriers that canbe aggregated increases to 32 in 3GPP Release 13. 3GPP has agreed to notchange the size of the CIF, at least in part because increasing the sizeof the CIF to 5 bits in order to accommodate all of the 32 possiblecarriers will increase the PDCCH size and result in resource wastage ifnot all of the 32 possible carriers are configured. The presentdisclosure contemplates various embodiments that may address these andother deficiencies associated with existing approaches. The variousembodiments may advantageously enable mapping of CIF to serving cellswhen more than 8 serving cells are configured for the UE, while stillrelying on the existing 3-bit CIF size.

For example, in certain embodiments a method in a network node isdisclosed. The network node configures a wireless device with aplurality of carriers, each of the plurality of carriers comprising acommunication channel between the wireless device and one of the networknode or another wireless device. The network node groups the configuredcarriers into at least a first group and a second group. The networknode associates each of the configured carriers of the first group withone of a plurality of possible CIF values such that each of theconfigured carriers of the first group has a different CIF value thanother configured carriers in the first group. The network nodeassociates each of the configured carriers of the second group with oneof the plurality of possible CIF values such that each of the configuredcarriers of the second group has a different CIF value than otherconfigured carriers in the second group. The network node communicates,to the wireless device on a first carrier of either the first or secondgroups, information related to a particular carrier in the same group asthe first carrier, wherein the particular carrier is identified by itsassociated CIF value. In some cases, the particular carrier may bedifferent from the first carrier. In some cases, the particular carriermay be the same as the first carrier. In certain embodiments, theinformation may be one or more of: a downlink scheduling assignment forthe particular carrier; an uplink scheduling grant for the particularcarrier; a sidelink grant for the particular carrier; and an order toperform CFRA on the particular carrier.

As another example, in certain embodiments a method in a wireless deviceis disclosed. The wireless device receives, from a network node on afirst carrier of either a first group of configured carriers or a secondgroup of configured carriers, information related to a particularcarrier in the same group as the first carrier. The wireless device isconfigured with a plurality of carriers, each of the plurality ofcarriers comprising a communication channel between the wireless deviceand one of the network node or another wireless device. The particularcarrier is associated with one of a plurality of possible CIF values. Insome cases, the particular carrier may be different from the firstcarrier. In some cases, the particular carrier may be the same as thefirst carrier. The wireless device determines, based on the firstcarrier on which the information was received, whether the first carrierbelongs to the first group of configured carriers or the second group ofconfigured carriers. The wireless device identifies, based on thedetermined group that the first carrier belongs to and the CIF valueassociated with the particular carrier, one of the plurality ofconfigured carriers as the particular carrier.

The various embodiments described herein may advantageously enablecross-carrier scheduling or other operations involving transfer of CIFvalues to a wireless device to be performed on more than 8 serving cellswhile still relying on the existing 3-bit CIF size. Thus, even keepingthe legacy CIF size, it will be possible to fully exploit thecross-carrier scheduling flexibility over all the 32 carriers that canbe configured. As described in more detail below, similar benefits mayalso be achieved for any scenarios in which CIF values needs to betransferred to the wireless device, such as for PDCCH order, which alsouses CIF to order the wireless device to perform CFRA on a particularcarrier.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a network 100,in accordance with certain embodiments. Network 100 includes one or moreUE(s) 110 (which may be interchangeably referred to as wireless devices110) and one or more network node(s) 115 (which may be interchangeablyreferred to as eNodeBs (eNBs) 115). UEs 110 may communicate with networknodes 115 over a wireless interface. For example, a UE 110 may transmitwireless signals to one or more of network nodes 115, and/or receivewireless signals from one or more of network nodes 115. The wirelesssignals may contain voice traffic, data traffic, control signals, and/orany other suitable information. In some embodiments, an area of wirelesssignal coverage associated with a network node 115 may be referred to asa cell. In some embodiments, UEs 110 may have device-to-device (D2D)capability. Thus, UEs 110 may be able to receive signals from and/ortransmit signals directly to another UE.

In certain embodiments, network nodes 115 may interface with a radionetwork controller. The radio network controller may control networknodes 115 and may provide certain radio resource management functions,mobility management functions, and/or other suitable functions. Incertain embodiments, the functions of the radio network controller maybe included in network node 115. The radio network controller mayinterface with a core network node. In certain embodiments, the radionetwork controller may interface with the core network node via aninterconnecting network 120. Interconnecting network 120 may refer toany interconnecting system capable of transmitting audio, video,signals, data, messages, or any combination of the preceding.Interconnecting network 120 may include all or a portion of a publicswitched telephone network (PSTN), a public or private data network, alocal area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide areanetwork (WAN), a local, regional, or global communication or computernetwork such as the Internet, a wireline or wireless network, anenterprise intranet, or any other suitable communication link, includingcombinations thereof.

In some embodiments, the core network node may manage the establishmentof communication sessions and various other functionalities for UEs 110.UEs 110 may exchange certain signals with the core network node usingthe non-access stratum layer. In non-access stratum signaling, signalsbetween UEs 110 and the core network node may be transparently passedthrough the radio access network. In certain embodiments, network nodes115 may interface with one or more network nodes over an internodeinterface, such as, for example, an X2 interface.

As described above, example embodiments of network 100 may include oneor more wireless devices 110, and one or more different types of networknodes capable of communicating (directly or indirectly) with wirelessdevices 110.

In some embodiments, the non-limiting term UE is used. UEs 110 describedherein can be any type of wireless device capable of communicating withnetwork nodes 115 or another UE over radio signals. UE 110 may also be aradio communication device, target device, D2D UE,machine-type-communication UE or UE capable of machine to machinecommunication (M2M), low-cost and/or low-complexity UE, a sensorequipped with UE, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embeddedequipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, CustomerPremises Equipment (CPE), etc. UE 110 may operate under either normalcoverage or enhanced coverage with respect to its serving cell. Theenhanced coverage may be interchangeably referred to as extendedcoverage. UE 110 may also operate in a plurality of coverage levels(e.g., normal coverage, enhanced coverage level 1, enhanced coveragelevel 2, enhanced coverage level 3 and so on). In some cases, UE 110 mayalso operate in out-of-coverage scenarios.

Also, in some embodiments generic terminology, “radio network node” (orsimply “network node”) is used. It can be any kind of network node,which may comprise a base station (BS), radio base station, Node B, basestation (BS), multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS,evolved Node B (eNB), network controller, radio network controller(RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay node, relay donor nodecontrolling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), access point (AP),radio access point, transmission points, transmission nodes, RemoteRadio Unit (RRU), Remote Radio Head (RRH), nodes in distributed antennasystem (DAS), Multi-cell/multicast Coordination Entity (MCE), corenetwork node (e.g., MSC, MME, etc.), O&M, OSS, SON, positioning node(e.g., E-SMLC), MDT, or any other suitable network node.

The terminology such as network node and UE should be considerednon-limiting and does in particular not imply a certain hierarchicalrelation between the two; in general “eNodeB” could be considered asdevice 1 and “UE” device 2, and these two devices communicate with eachother over some radio channel.

Example embodiments of UE 110, network nodes 115, and other networknodes (such as radio network controller or core network node) aredescribed in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 7-11.

Although FIG. 2 illustrates a particular arrangement of network 100, thepresent disclosure contemplates that the various embodiments describedherein may be applied to a variety of networks having any suitableconfiguration. For example, network 100 may include any suitable numberof UEs 110 and network nodes 115, as well as any additional elementssuitable to support communication between UEs or between a UE andanother communication device (such as a landline telephone).Furthermore, although certain embodiments may be described asimplemented in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, the embodiments maybe implemented in any appropriate type of telecommunication systemsupporting any suitable communication standards (including 5G standards)and using any suitable components, and are applicable to any radioaccess technology (RAT) or multi-RAT systems in which a UE receivesand/or transmits signals (e.g., data). For example, the variousembodiments described herein may be applicable to LTE, LTE-Advanced,UMTS, HSPA, GSM, cdma2000, WiMax, WiFi, another suitable radio accesstechnology, or any suitable combination of one or more radio accesstechnologies. Although certain embodiments may be described in thecontext of wireless transmissions in the downlink, the presentdisclosure contemplates that the various embodiments are equallyapplicable in the uplink.

As described above, the various embodiments described herein relate tomethods for establishing a mapping between carrier/cell indicator fields(referred to herein as Carrier Indicator Fields (CIF)) and carriers in,for example, a scenario when wireless device 110 is configured withcross-carrier scheduling groups. Although certain embodiments may bedescribed using cross-carrier scheduling as an example (in which the CIFindicates the carriers scheduled), the present disclosure contemplatesthat the various embodiments are not limited to such an example and areapplicable to a variety of scenarios, including any scenario in whichCIF values need to be transferred to wireless device 110, including, forexample, PDCCH order (which also uses CIF to order wireless device 110to perform CFRA on a particular carrier).

As used herein, the terms carrier, cell, serving cell, and componentcarrier may be used interchangeably to refer to a communication channelbetween two entities, such as a network node and a wireless device, inwhich the two entities can communicate with each other. Furthermore,even though LTE is used herein as one example, it should be appreciatedthat this is just an example and the various embodiments may be appliedto other types of systems where cross-carrier scheduling or similarmechanisms are applied.

As described above, network node 115 configures wireless device 110 witha plurality of carriers, each of the plurality of carriers comprising acommunication channel between wireless device 110 and one of networknode 115 or another wireless device 110. In certain embodiments, each ofthe configured carriers is associated with a cell index value. Networknode 115 groups the configured carriers into at least a first group anda second group. In certain embodiments, the first and second groups maybe cross-carrier scheduling groups.

Network node 115 associates each of the configured carriers of the firstgroup with one of a plurality of possible CIF values such that each ofthe configured carriers of the first group has a different CIF valuethan other configured carriers in the first group. Network node 115associates each of the configured carriers of the second group with oneof the plurality of possible CIF values such that each of the configuredcarriers of the second group has a different CIF value than otherconfigured carriers in the second group. Network node 115 communicates,to wireless device 110 on a first carrier of either the first or secondgroups, information related to a particular carrier in the same group asthe first carrier. In some cases, the particular carrier may bedifferent from the first carrier. In some cases, the particular carriermay be the same as the first carrier. The particular carrier isidentified by its associated CIF value. The information related to theparticular carrier may be any suitable information. For example, theinformation may be one or more of a DL scheduling assignment for theparticular carrier; an UL scheduling grant for the particular carrier; asidelink grant for the particular carrier; an order to performcontention free random access on the particular carrier; and any othersuitable information.

In certain embodiments, wireless device 110 receives, from network node115 on the first carrier of either the first group of configuredcarriers or the second group of configured carriers, the informationrelated to the particular carrier. The particular carrier is associatedwith one of a plurality of possible CIF values. Wireless device 110determines, based on the first carrier on which the information wasreceived, whether the first carrier belongs to the first group ofconfigured carriers or the second group of configured carriers. Wirelessdevice 110 identifies, based on the determined group that the firstcarrier belongs to and the CIF value associated with the particularcarrier, one of the plurality of configured carriers as the particularcarrier.

In order to identify the particular carrier, wireless device 110 needsto be aware of the mapping of CIF values to the configured carriers ofthe first group and the configured carriers of the second group. Themapping between carriers and CIF values may be established in anysuitable manner. As one example, in certain embodiments the mappingbetween carriers and CIF values may be explicitly configured by thenetwork (e.g., configured by a network node, such as network node 115).As another example, in certain embodiments the mapping between carriersand CIF values may be implicit.

In cases where explicit mapping is used, the mapping between carriersand CIF values is explicitly configured by the network. For example,network node 115, which may be any suitable network node (such as an eNBin LTE), may explicitly configure the mapping between carriers and CIFvalues. In some cases, network node 115 can indicate for each carrierwhich CIF value a cell is associated with. As one example, network node115 may communicate, to wireless device 110, the CIF value associatedwith each of the configured carriers of the first and second groups.Wireless device 110 may identify one of the plurality of carriers as theparticular carrier based on the received information.

As another example, network node 115 may communicate the mapping byindicating a set of cross-carrier scheduling groups to wireless device110 and, for each group, which serving cells are mapped to this grouptogether with the CIF value to which each of those serving cells aremapped. For example, network node 115 may communicate, to wirelessdevice 110, information indicating which of the configured carriersbelong to the first group and which of the configured carriers belong tothe second group. The communicated information may further comprise theCIF value associated with each of the configured carriers of the firstand second groups. Wireless device 110 may identify one of the pluralityof carriers as the particular carrier based on the received information.

In certain embodiments, the mapping between CIF values and configuredcarriers may be implicit. Wireless device 110 may determine that animplicit mapping is being used in any suitable manner. For example, incertain embodiments if network node 115 excludes the mapping indicatorthen wireless device 110 may implicitly assume a mapping for this cell.Implicit mapping has the benefit that no additional signaling is neededto establish the mapping. This may advantageously allow for reducedsignaling overhead as network node 115 does not need to explicitlycommunicate the mapping indicator if an implicit mapping is acceptable.

In embodiments in which the mapping between carriers and CIF values isimplicit, the mapping may be performed in any suitable manner. Asdescribed above, network node 115 may associate each of the configuredcarriers of the first group with one of a plurality of possible cellindex values, and associate each of the configured carriers of thesecond group with one of the plurality of possible cell index values. Incases where implicit mapping is used, wireless device 110 can associateeach carrier of the first and second groups with one of a plurality ofpossible CIF values based on the cell index value associated with eachcarrier. Wireless device 110 can then identify one of the plurality ofconfigured carriers as the particular carrier to which the receivedinformation (e.g., a DL scheduling assignment) relates to using the CIFvalue associated with each carrier based on the cell index value. Incertain embodiments, the implicit mapping performed by wireless device110 may be based on one or more predefined rules.

As one example, in certain embodiments the CIF values can be mapped tothe configured carriers such that the carrier with the lowest cell indexvalue in a group is mapped to the lowest CIF value and the carrier withthe second lowest cell index value in the group is mapped to the secondlowest CIF value, and so on. In such a case, wireless device 110 mayassociate a carrier having a lowest numerical cell index value of eachof the first and second groups with a lowest numerical CIF value, andassociate additional carriers of each of the first and second groupswith one of the plurality of possible CIF values such that eachadditional carrier having a next lowest numerical cell index value isassociated with a next lowest numerical CIF value. To illustrate thisexample embodiment, assume wireless device 110 is configured with afirst group of carriers, Group 1, and a second group of carriers, Group2. Assume further that Group 1 includes Carrier 1 (with a cell indexvalue of 1), Carrier 3 (with a cell index value of 3) and Carrier 4(with a cell index value of 4), and that Group 2 includes Carrier 2(with a cell index value of 2) and Carrier 17 (with a cell index valueof 17). In this example embodiment, wireless device 110 would associateCarrier 1 (i.e., the carrier in Group 1 having the lowest numerical cellindex value) with CIF 0, Carrier 3 (i.e., the carrier in Group 1 havingthe next lowest numerical cell index value) with CIF 1, and Carrier 4(i.e., the carrier in Group 1 having the next lowest numerical cellindex value) with CIF 2. Wireless device 110 would associate Carrier 2(i.e., the carrier in Group 2 having the lowest numerical cell indexvalue) with CIF 0, and Carrier 17 (i.e., the carrier in Group 2 havingthe next lowest numerical cell index value) with CIF 1.

As another example, in certain embodiments the CIF values can be mappedsuch that the carrier with the highest cell index value in a group ismapped to the lowest CIF value and the carrier with the second highestcell index value in the group is mapped to the second lowest CIF value,and so on. In such a case, wireless device 110 may associate a carrierhaving a highest numerical cell index value of each of the first andsecond groups with a lowest numerical CIF value, and associateadditional carriers of each of the first and second groups with one ofthe plurality of possible CIF values such that each additional carrierhaving a next highest numerical cell index value is associated with anext lowest numerical CIF value. To illustrate this example embodiment,assume wireless device 110 is configured with a first group of carriers,Group 1, and a second group of carriers, Group 2. Assume further thatGroup 1 includes Carrier 1 (with a cell index value of 1), Carrier 3(with a cell index value of 3) and Carrier 4 (with a cell index value of4), and that Group 2 includes Carrier 2 (with a cell index value of 2)and Carrier 17 (with a cell index value of 17). In this exampleembodiment, wireless device 110 would associate Carrier 4 (i.e., thecarrier in Group 1 having the highest numerical cell index value) withCIF 0, Carrier 3 (i.e., the carrier in Group 1 having the next highestnumerical cell index value) with CIF 1, and Carrier 1 (i.e., the carrierin Group 1 having the next highest numerical cell index value) with CIF2. Wireless device 110 would associate Carrier 17 (i.e., the carrier inGroup 2 having the highest numerical cell index value) with CIF 0, andCarrier 2 (i.e., the carrier in Group 2 having the next highestnumerical cell index value) with CIF 1.

In some cases, a variant of the implicit mapping may be used in which acertain cell has a fixed mapping. In certain embodiments, at least oneof the configured carriers may be associated with a particular one ofthe plurality of possible CIF values based on one or morecharacteristics of the at least one carrier. The at least one carriermay be associated with a particular one of the plurality of possible CIFvalues based on any suitable characteristics. As one non-limitingexample, the at least one carrier may be associated with a particularone of the plurality of possible CIF values based on whether the cell isconfigured with PUCCH. In such a case, a cell that is configured withPUCCH may be assigned a fixed mapping. For example, if there is a cellwithin a cross-carrier scheduling group that has PUCCH configured thenthis cell may be implicitly associated with CIF 0. As anothernon-limiting example, the at least one carrier may be associated with aparticular one of the plurality of possible CIF values based on whetherthe cell is a scheduling cell. For example, a scheduling cell may beimplicitly associated with CIF 0.

Whether wireless device 110 applies an implicit mapping or an explicitmapping may be determined in any suitable manner. For example, incertain embodiments wireless device 110 determines whether to apply animplicit mapping or an explicit mapping based on whether wireless device110 has received an explicit mapping or not. For example, in some casesif wireless device 110 receives an explicit mapping from network node115 (or another suitable network entity), then wireless device 110 willapply that explicit mapping. If, however, wireless device 110 does notreceive an explicit mapping from network node 115 (or another suitablenetwork entity), then wireless device 110 applies an implicit mapping.

Thus, using either an explicit or an implicit mapping, wireless device110 can identify the particular carrier to which the receivedinformation relates, and may perform any suitable operations based onthe received information. For example, in certain embodiments thereceived information may be a DL scheduling assignment for theparticular carrier. In such a case, when the CIF to cell mapping isestablished, wireless device 110 can be scheduled on the carriers bynetwork node 115. Network node 115 will indicate a CIF to wirelessdevice 110 on PDCCH, and wireless device 110 will determine which cellis scheduled. This will be done by wireless device 110 determining whichserving cell wireless device 110 received the scheduling on (i.e., whichcell wireless device 110 received a grant for uplink transmission or adownlink assignment, or in case of device to device communication inLTE, a sidelink grant). Based on this, wireless device 110 knows whichgroup (e.g., cross-carrier scheduling group) wireless device 110 isscheduled in. Which cell within the cross-carrier scheduling groupwireless device 110 is scheduled on is known by determining which cellthe received CIF is associated with. The flow diagram of FIG. 4 shows anexample event flow illustrating some aspects of this disclosure. One ofskill in the art will appreciate that these functions, as well as thefunctions described above, may be carried out through the use ofhardware, software modules, or any combination thereof.

Although the various embodiments disclosed herein are described in thecontext of examples involving fewer than the maximum number of carriersthat can be supported by Release 13 of 3GPP, it will be evident to oneof skill in the art that the various embodiments disclosed herein couldbe extended to scenarios involving any suitable number of carriersdivided into any suitable number of groups. For example, in a scenarioin which all 32 carriers are configured for wireless device 110, networknode 115 could divide the configured carriers into four groups (e.g.,Groups 1-4) of 8 carriers (corresponding to the number of values thatcan be supported using the legacy 3-bit CIF value). Using the variousembodiments described herein, wireless device 110, upon receiving on afirst carrier of one of the four groups information related to aparticular carrier in the same group as the first carrier, couldidentify the particular carrier based on the group to which the firstcarrier belongs and the CIF value associated with the particularcarrier.

FIG. 3 illustrates one way of implementing explicit mapping using RRCsignaling, in accordance with certain embodiments. As described above,the mapping between carriers and CIF may be explicitly configured by thenetwork. For example, a network node (such as network node 115 describedabove, which may for example be an eNB in LTE), may explicitly configurethe mapping between carriers and CIF values. In some cases, network node115 can indicate for each carrier which CIF value a cell is associatedwith. As described above, a CIF of 3 bits can take 8 values. Networknode 115 may communicate, to wireless device 110, the CIF valueassociated with each of the configured carriers of the first and secondgroups. In the example of FIG. 3, the added/modified parts relative tothe current RRC version (i.e., 3GPP TS 36.331 v 12.5.0) are underlined.Parameter 305 (i.e., cif-Index-r13) indicates the CIF that this servingcell should be associated with.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an event flow for establishing a mapping betweenCIF and component carriers, in accordance with certain embodiments. Atstep 405, the UE establishes a connection to the network. At step 410,the UE is configured with additional carriers. The UE may be configuredwith additional carriers in any suitable manner and by any suitablenetwork entity. For example, in certain embodiments a network node, suchas network node 115 described above in relation to FIG. 2, may configurethe UE with additional carriers. Each of the configured carriers mayhave an associated cell index value.

At step 415, the UE is configured with cross-carrier scheduling groups.The UE may be configured with cross-carrier scheduling groups in anysuitable manner and by any suitable network entity. For example, incertain embodiments a network node, such as network node 115 describedabove in relation to FIG. 2, may configure the UE with cross-carrierscheduling groups. In the example of FIG. 4, the UE is configured withtwo cross-carrier scheduling groups: cross-carrier scheduling Group Xand cross carrier-scheduling Group Y. As shown in FIG. 4, cross-carrierscheduling Group X includes three carriers: Carrier 1; Carrier 3; andCarrier 4. Carrier 1 has a cell index value of 1, Carrier 3 has a cellindex value of 3, and Carrier 4 has a cell index value of 4.Cross-carrier scheduling Group Y includes two carriers: Carrier 2 andCarrier 17. Carrier 2 has a cell index value of 2, and Carrier 17 has acell index value of 17.

At step 420, the UE determines whether explicit mapping is used. Asdescribed above with respect to FIG. 2, the mapping between CIF valuesand serving cells may be explicit or implicit. If the UE determines thatexplicit mapping is being used, the method proceeds to step 425. At step425, the UE receives a mapping between CIF values and configuredcarriers. As described above, the network node may communicate, to thewireless device, the CIF value associated with each of the configuredcarriers of the first and second groups. In certain embodiments, thenetwork node may communicate information on which carriers are includedin each cross-carrier scheduling group. The received mapping associateseach of the carriers configured for the UE with a CIF value. In theexample of FIG. 4, Carrier 1 is associated with a CIF value of 0,Carrier 2 is associated with a CIF value of 3, Carrier 3 is associatedwith a CIF value of 5, Carrier 4 is associated with a CIF value of 2,and Carrier 17 is associated with a CIF value of 2.

At step 430, the UE receives a scheduling grant with CIF=2 in a firstcarrier in cross-carrier scheduling Group X (which includes Carriers 1,3 and 4). From the received scheduling grant, the UE determines that thefirst carrier belongs to cross-carrier scheduling Group X. Based on theexplicit mapping received from the network node (which associated CIF=2with Carrier 4 in cross-carrier scheduling Group X and Carrier 17 incross-carrier scheduling Group Y) and the cross-carrier scheduling groupthat the carrier on which the scheduling grant was received belongs to(here, cross-carrier scheduling Group X), the UE is able to identify theparticular carrier to which the scheduling grant relates using the CIFvalue. In other words, the UE is able to identify Carrier 4 incross-carrier scheduling Group X as the particular carrier to which thescheduling grant relates. Thus, at step 435 the UE performs transmissionand/or reception on Carrier 4.

As another example, at step 440 the UE receives a scheduling grant withCIF=2 in a carrier in cross-carrier scheduling Group Y. From thereceived scheduling grant, the UE is able to determine that the firstcarrier belongs to cross-carrier scheduling Group Y. Based on theexplicit mapping received from the network node (which associated CIF=2with Carrier 4 in cross-carrier scheduling Group X and Carrier 17 incross-carrier scheduling Group Y), and the cross-carrier schedulinggroup that the carrier on which the scheduling grant was receivedbelongs to (here, Group Y), the UE is able to identify Carrier 17 incross-carrier scheduling Group Y as the particular carrier. Thus, atstep 445, the UE performs transmission and/or reception on Carrier 17.

If the UE determines at step 420 that an explicit mapping is not used(or, in other words, that an implicit mapping should be used), themethod proceeds to step 450. At step 450, the UE applies an implicitmapping. The UE may perform an implicit mapping in any suitable manner.As described above with respect to FIG. 2, in certain embodiments the UEmay perform an implicit mapping based at least in part on the cell indexvalue assigned to each carrier. For example, the UE may associate eachcarrier of the first and second groups (i.e., Group X and Group Y) withone of a plurality of possible CIF values based on the cell index valueassociated with each carrier. As one example, in the case of implicitmapping the UE may map the carrier having the highest cell index valueto the lowest CIF value, and the carrier with the second highest cellindex may be mapped to the second lowest CIF value, and so on. In otherwords, for each of the first and second groups, the UE associates thecarrier having a highest numerical cell index value of each of the firstand second groups with a lowest numerical CIF value, and associatesadditional carriers of each of the first and second groups with one ofthe plurality of possible CIF values such that each additional carrierhaving a next highest numerical cell index value is associated with anext lowest numerical CIF value.

As another example, and as shown in FIG. 4, in the case of implicitmapping the UE may map the carrier having the lowest cell index value tothe lowest CIF value, and the carrier with the second lowest cell indexvalue may be mapped to the second lowest CIF value, and so on. In otherwords, the UE associates the carrier having a lowest numerical cellindex value of each of the first and second groups with a lowestnumerical CIF value, and associates additional carriers of each of thefirst and second groups with one of the plurality of possible CIF valuessuch that each additional carrier having a next lowest numerical cellindex value is associated with a next lowest numerical carrier indicatorfield value. Thus, at step 450, the UE applies an implicit mapping tothe configured carriers in Group X and Group Y. Within cross-carrierscheduling Group X (which includes Carrier 1, Carrier 3, and Carrier 4)the UE maps Carrier 1 (the carrier having the lowest numerical cellindex value within Group X) to CIF 0. The UE maps Carrier 3 (the carrierhaving the next lowest numerical cell index value within Group X) to CIF1. The UE maps Carrier 4 (the carrier having the next lowest numericalcell index value within Group X) to CIF 2. The UE treats the carriers incross-carrier scheduling Group Y similarly. For example, the UE mapsCarrier 2 (the carrier having the lowest numerical cell index valuewithin Group Y) to CIF 0. The UE maps Carrier 17 (the carrier having thenext lowest cell index value within Group Y) to CIF 1.

Having applied the implicit mapping at step 450, the method thenproceeds to step 455. At step 455, the UE receives a scheduling grantwith CIF=0 in a carrier in cross-carrier scheduling Group X. From thereceived scheduling grant, the UE is able to determine whether the firstcarrier belongs to the first group of configured carriers (e.g.,cross-carrier scheduling Group X) or the second group of configuredcarriers (e.g., cross-carrier scheduling Group Y). Here, the UEidentifies that the scheduling grant was received in a carrier incross-carrier scheduling Group X. Based on the determined group that thefirst carrier belongs to and the CIF value associated with theparticular carrier (i.e., CIF 0), the UE is able to identify Carrier 1as the particular carrier in Group X to which the received schedulinggrant relates. Thus, at step 460 the UE performs transmission/receptionon Carrier 1.

At step 465, the UE receives a scheduling grant with CIF=0 in a carrierin cross-carrier scheduling Group Y. From the received scheduling grant,the UE is able to determine whether the carrier on which the schedulinggrant was received belongs to cross-carrier scheduling

Group X or cross-carrier scheduling Group Y. Here, the UE identifiesthat the scheduling grant was received in a carrier in cross-carrierscheduling Group Y. Based on the determined group that the carrierbelongs to and the CIF value associated with the particular carrier(i.e., CIF 0), the UE is able to identify Carrier 2 as the carrier inGroup Y to which the received scheduling grant relates. Thus, at step470, the UE performs transmission/reception on Carrier 2.

As described above, in certain embodiments the UE may receiveinformation other than a scheduling grant. For example, the UE mayreceive, from the network node on a first carrier of either the firstgroup of configured carriers (e.g., Group X) or a second group ofconfigured carriers (e.g., Group Y), any suitable information related toa particular carrier in the same group as the first carrier. In somecases, the information may be one or more of a DL scheduling assignmentfor the particular carrier; an UL scheduling grant for the particularcarrier; a sidelink grant for the particular carrier; and an order toperform contention free random access on the particular carrier. Afterapplying the mapping (whether received explicitly or performedimplicitly by the UE), the UE can use the CIF value associated with theparticular carrier to identify the particular carrier to which thereceived information relates.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method in a network node, in accordancewith certain embodiments. The method begins at step 504, where thenetwork node configures a wireless device with a plurality of carriers,each of the plurality of carriers comprising a communication channelbetween the wireless device and one of the network node or anotherwireless device. At step 508, the network node groups the configuredcarriers into at least a first group and a second group.

At step 512, the network node associates each of the configured carriersof the first group with one of a plurality of possible carrier indicatorfield values such that each of the configured carriers of the firstgroup has a different carrier indicator field value than otherconfigured carriers in the first group. At step 516, the network nodeassociates each of the configured carriers of the second group with oneof the plurality of possible carrier indicator field values such thateach of the configured carriers of the second group has a differentcarrier indicator field value than other configured carriers in thesecond group.

At step 520, the network node communicates, to the wireless device on afirst carrier of either the first or second groups, information relatedto a particular carrier in the same group as the first carrier, whereinthe particular carrier is identified by its associated carrier indicatorfield value. In certain embodiments, the information may comprise one ormore of: a downlink scheduling assignment for the particular carrier; anuplink scheduling grant for the particular carrier; a sidelink grant forthe particular carrier; and an order to perform contention free randomaccess on the particular carrier.

In certain embodiments, the method may comprise communicating, to thewireless device, the carrier indicator field value associated with eachof the configured carriers of the first and second groups. The carrierindicator field value associated with each of the configured carriers ofthe first and second groups may be communicated in any suitable manner.As one example, the carrier indicator field value associated with eachof the configured carriers of the first and second groups may becommunicated via radio resource control signaling. In certainembodiments, the method may comprise communicating, to the wirelessdevice, information indicating which of the configured carriers belongto the first group and which of the configured carriers belong to thesecond group, the communicated information further comprising thecarrier indicator field value associated with each of the configuredcarriers of the first and second groups.

In certain embodiments, at least one of the configured carriers may beassociated with a particular one of the plurality of possible carrierindicator field values based on one or more characteristics of the atleast one carrier. The one or more characteristics may comprise one ormore of: whether the at least one carrier is configured with a physicaluplink control channel; and whether the at least one carrier is ascheduling cell.

In certain embodiments, the method may comprise associating each of theconfigured carriers of the first group with one of a plurality ofpossible cell index values, and associating each of the configuredcarriers of the second group with one of the plurality of possible cellindex values. The method may comprise configuring the wireless device toidentify a carrier indicator field value for the particular carrierbased on the cell index value of the particular carrier.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method in a wireless device, in accordancewith certain embodiments. The method begins at step 604, where thewireless device receives, from a network node on a first carrier ofeither a first group of configured carriers or a second group ofconfigured carriers, information related to a particular carrier in thesame group as the first carrier, wherein the wireless device isconfigured with a plurality of carriers, each of the plurality ofcarriers comprising a communication channel between the wireless deviceand one of the network node or another wireless device, and theparticular carrier is associated with one of a plurality of possiblecarrier indicator field values. In certain embodiments, the informationmay comprise one or more of: a downlink scheduling assignment for theparticular carrier; an uplink scheduling grant for the particularcarrier; a sidelink grant for the particular carrier; and an order toperform contention free random access on the particular carrier.

At step 608, the wireless device determines, based on the first carrieron which the information was received, whether the first carrier belongsto the first group of configured carriers or the second group ofconfigured carriers.

At step 612, the wireless device identifies, based on the determinedgroup that the first carrier belongs to and the carrier indicator fieldvalue associated with the particular carrier, one of the plurality ofconfigured carriers as the particular carrier. In certain embodiments,the method may comprise receiving, from the network node, informationindicating which one of a plurality of possible carrier indicator fieldvalues is associated with each of the configured carriers of the firstand second groups, and identifying one of the plurality of carriers asthe particular carrier may be based on the received information. Theinformation indicating which one of the plurality of possible carrierindicator field values is associated with each of the configuredcarriers of the first and second groups may be received in any suitablemanner. For example, in certain embodiments the carrier indicator fieldvalue associated with each of the configured carriers of the first andsecond groups may be received via radio resource control signaling. Incertain embodiments, the method comprises receiving, from the networknode, information indicating which of the plurality of configuredcarriers belong to the first group and which of the configured carriersbelong to the second group, the received information further comprisingthe carrier indicator field value associated with each of the configuredcarriers of the first and second groups, and identifying one of theplurality of carriers as the particular carrier may be based on thereceived information.

In certain embodiments, each of the configured carriers of the first andsecond groups may be associated with one of a plurality of possible cellindex values. The method may comprise associating each carrier of thefirst and second groups with one of a plurality of possible carrierindicator field values based on the cell index value associated witheach carrier, and identifying one of the plurality of configuredcarriers as the particular carrier may be based on the cell indicatorfield value associated with each carrier based on the cell index value.In certain embodiments, associating each carrier of the first and secondgroups with one of the plurality of possible carrier indicator fieldvalues based on the cell index value associated with each carrier maycomprise associating a carrier having a lowest numerical cell indexvalue of each of the first and second groups with a lowest numericalcarrier indicator field value, and associating additional carriers ofeach of the first and second groups with one of the plurality ofpossible cell indicator field values such that each additional carrierhaving a next lowest numerical cell index value is associated with anext lowest numerical carrier indicator field value. In certainembodiments, associating each carrier of the first and second groupswith one of the plurality of possible carrier indicator field valuesbased on the cell index value associated with each carrier may compriseassociating a carrier having a highest numerical cell index value ofeach of the first and second groups with a lowest numerical carrierindicator field value, and associating additional carriers of each ofthe first and second groups with one of the plurality of possible cellindicator field values such that each additional carrier having a nexthighest numerical cell index value is associated with a next lowestnumerical carrier indicator field value.

FIG. 7 is a block schematic of an exemplary wireless device, inaccordance with certain embodiments. Wireless device 110 may refer toany type of wireless device communicating with a node and/or withanother wireless device in a cellular or mobile communication system.Examples of wireless device 110 include a mobile phone, a smart phone, aPDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a portable computer (e.g., laptop,tablet), a sensor, a modem, a machine-type-communication (MTC)device/machine-to-machine (M2M) device, laptop embedded equipment (LEE),laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, a D2D capable device, oranother device that can provide wireless communication. A wirelessdevice 110 may also be referred to as UE, a station (STA), a device, ora terminal in some embodiments. Wireless device 110 includes transceiver710, processor 720, and memory 730. In some embodiments, transceiver 710facilitates transmitting wireless signals to and receiving wirelesssignals from network node 115 (e.g., via antenna 740), processor 720executes instructions to provide some or all of the functionalitydescribed above as being provided by wireless device 110, and memory 730stores the instructions executed by processor 720.

Processor 720 may include any suitable combination of hardware andsoftware implemented in one or more modules to execute instructions andmanipulate data to perform some or all of the described functions ofwireless device 110, such as the functions of wireless device 110described above in relation to FIGS. 1-6. In some embodiments, processor720 may include, for example, one or more computers, one or more centralprocessing units (CPUs), one or more microprocessors, one or moreapplications, one or more application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and/or otherlogic.

Memory 730 is generally operable to store instructions, such as acomputer program, software, an application including one or more oflogic, rules, algorithms, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructionscapable of being executed by a processor. Examples of memory 730 includecomputer memory (for example, Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read OnlyMemory (ROM)), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removablestorage media (for example, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk(DVD)), and/or or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitorycomputer-readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that storeinformation, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processor720.

Other embodiments of wireless device 110 may include additionalcomponents beyond those shown in FIG. 7 that may be responsible forproviding certain aspects of the wireless device's functionality,including any of the functionality described above and/or any additionalfunctionality (including any functionality necessary to support thesolution described above). As just one example, wireless device 110 mayinclude input devices and circuits, output devices, and one or moresynchronization units or circuits, which may be part of the processor720. Input devices include mechanisms for entry of data into wirelessdevice 110. For example, input devices may include input mechanisms,such as a microphone, input elements, a display, etc. Output devices mayinclude mechanisms for outputting data in audio, video and/or hard copyformat. For example, output devices may include a speaker, a display,etc.

FIG. 8 is a block schematic of an exemplary network node, in accordancewith certain embodiments. Network node 115 may be any type of radionetwork node or any network node that communicates with a UE and/or withanother network node. Examples of network node 115 include an eNodeB, anode B, a base station, a wireless access point (e.g., a Wi-Fi accesspoint), a low power node, a base transceiver station (BTS), relay, donornode controlling relay, transmission points, transmission nodes, remoteRF unit (RRU), remote radio head (RRH), multi-standard radio (MSR) radionode such as MSR BS, nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), O&M,OSS, SON, positioning node (e.g., E-SMLC), MDT, or any other suitablenetwork node. Network nodes 115 may be deployed throughout network 100as a homogenous deployment, heterogeneous deployment, or mixeddeployment. A homogeneous deployment may generally describe a deploymentmade up of the same (or similar) type of network nodes 115 and/orsimilar coverage and cell sizes and inter-site distances. Aheterogeneous deployment may generally describe deployments using avariety of types of network nodes 115 having different cell sizes,transmit powers, capacities, and inter-site distances. For example, aheterogeneous deployment may include a plurality of low-power nodesplaced throughout a macro-cell layout. Mixed deployments may include amix of homogenous portions and heterogeneous portions.

Network node 115 may include one or more of transceiver 810, processor820, memory 830, and network interface 840. In some embodiments,transceiver 810 facilitates transmitting wireless signals to andreceiving wireless signals from wireless device 110 (e.g., via antenna850), processor 820 executes instructions to provide some or all of thefunctionality described above as being provided by a network node 115,memory 830 stores the instructions executed by processor 820, andnetwork interface 840 communicates signals to backend networkcomponents, such as a gateway, switch, router, Internet, Public SwitchedTelephone Network (PSTN), core network nodes or radio networkcontrollers 130, etc.

Processor 820 may include any suitable combination of hardware andsoftware implemented in one or more modules to execute instructions andmanipulate data to perform some or all of the described functions ofnetwork node 115, such as those described above in relation to FIGS. 1-6above. In some embodiments, processor 820 may include, for example, oneor more computers, one or more central processing units (CPUs), one ormore microprocessors, one or more applications, and/or other logic.

Memory 830 is generally operable to store instructions, such as acomputer program, software, an application including one or more oflogic, rules, algorithms, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructionscapable of being executed by a processor. Examples of memory 830 includecomputer memory (for example, Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read OnlyMemory (ROM)), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removablestorage media (for example, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk(DVD)), and/or or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitorycomputer-readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that storeinformation.

In some embodiments, network interface 840 is communicatively coupled toprocessor 820 and may refer to any suitable device operable to receiveinput for network node 115, send output from network node 115, performsuitable processing of the input or output or both, communicate to otherdevices, or any combination of the preceding. Network interface 840 mayinclude appropriate hardware (e.g., port, modem, network interface card,etc.) and software, including protocol conversion and data processingcapabilities, to communicate through a network.

Other embodiments of network node 115 may include additional componentsbeyond those shown in FIG. 8 that may be responsible for providingcertain aspects of the radio network node's functionality, including anyof the functionality described above and/or any additional functionality(including any functionality necessary to support the solutionsdescribed above). The various different types of network nodes mayinclude components having the same physical hardware but configured(e.g., via programming) to support different radio access technologies,or may represent partly or entirely different physical components.

FIG. 9 is a block schematic of an exemplary radio network controller orcore network node 130, in accordance with certain embodiments. Examplesof network nodes can include a mobile switching center (MSC), a servingGPRS support node (SGSN), a mobility management entity (MME), a radionetwork controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), and so on.The radio network controller or core network node 130 includes processor920, memory 930, and network interface 940. In some embodiments,processor 920 executes instructions to provide some or all of thefunctionality described above as being provided by the network node,memory 930 stores the instructions executed by processor 920, andnetwork interface 940 communicates signals to any suitable node, such asa gateway, switch, router, Internet, Public Switched Telephone Network(PSTN), network nodes 115, radio network controllers or core networknodes 130, etc.

Processor 920 may include any suitable combination of hardware andsoftware implemented in one or more modules to execute instructions andmanipulate data to perform some or all of the described functions of theradio network controller or core network node 130. In some embodiments,processor 920 may include, for example, one or more computers, one ormore central processing units (CPUs), one or more microprocessors, oneor more applications, and/or other logic.

Memory 930 is generally operable to store instructions, such as acomputer program, software, an application including one or more oflogic, rules, algorithms, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructionscapable of being executed by a processor. Examples of memory 930 includecomputer memory (for example, Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read OnlyMemory (ROM)), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removablestorage media (for example, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk(DVD)), and/or or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitorycomputer-readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that storeinformation.

In some embodiments, network interface 940 is communicatively coupled toprocessor 920 and may refer to any suitable device operable to receiveinput for the network node, send output from the network node, performsuitable processing of the input or output or both, communicate to otherdevices, or any combination of the preceding. Network interface 940 mayinclude appropriate hardware (e.g., port, modem, network interface card,etc.) and software, including protocol conversion and data processingcapabilities, to communicate through a network.

Other embodiments of the network node may include additional componentsbeyond those shown in FIG. 9 that may be responsible for providingcertain aspects of the network node's functionality, including any ofthe functionality described above and/or any additional functionality(including any functionality necessary to support the solution describedabove).

FIG. 10 is a block schematic of an exemplary wireless device, inaccordance with certain embodiments. Wireless device 110 may include oneor more modules. For example, wireless device 110 may include adetermining module 1010, a communication module 1020, a receiving module1030, an input module 1040, a display module 1050, and any othersuitable modules. Wireless device 110 may perform the methods formapping CIF and serving cells described above with respect to FIGS. 1-6.

Determining module 1010 may perform the processing functions of wirelessdevice 110. For example, determining module 1010 may determine, based onthe first carrier on which the information was received, whether thefirst carrier belongs to the first group of configured carriers or thesecond group of configured carriers. As another example, determiningmodule 1010 may identify, based on the determined group that the firstcarrier belongs to and the carrier indicator field value associated withthe particular carrier, one of the plurality of configured carriers asthe particular carrier. As still another example, determining module1010 may associate each carrier of the first and second groups with oneof a plurality of possible carrier indicator field values based on thecell index value associated with each carrier. As yet another example,determining module 1010 may associate a carrier having a lowestnumerical cell index value of each of the first and second groups with alowest numerical carrier indicator field value, and associate additionalcarriers of each of the first and second groups with one of theplurality of possible cell indicator field values such that eachadditional carrier having a next lowest numerical cell index value isassociated with a next lowest numerical carrier indicator field value.As another example, determining module 1010 may associate a carrierhaving a highest numerical cell index value of each of the first andsecond groups with a lowest numerical carrier indicator field value, andassociate additional carriers of each of the first and second groupswith one of the plurality of possible cell indicator field values suchthat each additional carrier having a next highest numerical cell indexvalue is associated with a next lowest numerical carrier indicator fieldvalue.

Determining module 1010 may include or be included in one or moreprocessors, such as processor 720 described above in relation to FIG. 7.Determining module 1010 may include analog and/or digital circuitryconfigured to perform any of the functions of determining module 1010and/or processor 720 described above. The functions of determiningmodule 1010 described above may, in certain embodiments, be performed inone or more distinct modules.

Communication module 1020 may perform the transmission functions ofwireless device 110. Communication module 1020 may transmit messages toone or more of network nodes 115 of network 100. Communication module1020 may include a transmitter and/or a transceiver, such as transceiver710 described above in relation to FIG. 7. Communication module 1020 mayinclude circuitry configured to wirelessly transmit messages and/orsignals. In particular embodiments, communication module 1020 mayreceive messages and/or signals for transmission from determining module1010. In certain embodiments, the functions of communication module 1020described above may be performed in one or more distinct modules.

Receiving module 1030 may perform the receiving functions of wirelessdevice 110. As one example, receiving module 1030 may receive, from anetwork node on a first carrier of either a first group of configuredcarriers or a second group of configured carriers, information relatedto a particular carrier in the same group as the first carrier, whereinthe wireless device is configured with a plurality of carriers, each ofthe plurality of carriers comprising a communication channel between thewireless device and one of the network node or another wireless device,and the particular carrier is associated with one of a plurality ofpossible carrier indicator field values. As another example, receivingmodule 1030 may receive, from the network node, information indicatingwhich one of a plurality of possible carrier indicator field values isassociated with each of the configured carriers of the first and secondgroups. As still another example, receiving module 1030 may receive,from the network node, information indicating which of the plurality ofconfigured carriers belong to the first group and which of theconfigured carriers belong to the second group, the received informationfurther comprising the carrier indicator field value associated witheach of the configured carriers of the first and second groups.Receiving module 1030 may include a receiver and/or a transceiver, suchas transceiver 710 described above in relation to FIG. 7. Receivingmodule 1030 may include circuitry configured to wirelessly receivemessages and/or signals. In particular embodiments, receiving module1030 may communicate received messages and/or signals to determiningmodule 1010.

Input module 1040 may receive user input intended for wireless device110. For example, the input module may receive key presses, buttonpresses, touches, swipes, audio signals, video signals, and/or any otherappropriate signals. The input module may include one or more keys,buttons, levers, switches, touchscreens, microphones, and/or cameras.The input module may communicate received signals to determining module1010.

Display module 1050 may present signals on a display of wireless device110. Display module 1050 may include the display and/or any appropriatecircuitry and hardware configured to present signals on the display.Display module 1050 may receive signals to present on the display fromdetermining module 1010.

Determining module 1010, communication module 1020, receiving module1030, input module 1040, and display module 1050 may include anysuitable configuration of hardware and/or software. Wireless device 110may include additional modules beyond those shown in

FIG. 10 that may be responsible for providing any suitablefunctionality, including any of the functionality described above and/orany additional functionality (including any functionality necessary tosupport the various solutions described herein).

FIG. 11 is a block schematic of an exemplary network node 115, inaccordance with certain embodiments. Network node 115 may include one ormore modules. For example, network node 115 may include determiningmodule 1110, communication module 1120, receiving module 1130, and anyother suitable modules. In some embodiments, one or more of determiningmodule 1110, communication module 1120, receiving module 1130, or anyother suitable module may be implemented using one or more processors,such as processor 820 described above in relation to FIG. 8. In certainembodiments, the functions of two or more of the various modules may becombined into a single module. Network node 115 may perform the methodsfor mapping CIF and serving cells described above with respect to FIGS.1-6.

Determining module 1110 may perform the processing functions of networknode 115. As one example, determining module 1110 may configure awireless device with a plurality of carriers, each of the plurality ofcarriers comprising a communication channel between the wireless deviceand one of the network node or another wireless device. As anotherexample, determining module 1110 may group the configured carriers intoat least a first group and a second group. As still another example,determining module 1110 may associate each of the configured carriers ofthe first group with one of a plurality of possible carrier indicatorfield values such that each of the configured carriers of the firstgroup has a different carrier indicator field value than otherconfigured carriers in the first group. As yet another example,determining module 1110 may associate each of the configured carriers ofthe second group with one of the plurality of possible carrier indicatorfield values such that each of the configured carriers of the secondgroup has a different carrier indicator field value than otherconfigured carriers in the second group. As another example, determiningmodule 1110 may associate each of the configured carriers of the firstgroup with one of a plurality of possible cell index values, andassociate each of the configured carriers of the second group with oneof the plurality of possible cell index values. As another example,determining module 1110 may configure the wireless device to identify acarrier indicator field value for the particular carrier based on thecell index value of the particular carrier. As another example,determining module 1110 may associate at least one of the configuredcarriers with a particular one of the plurality of possible carrierindicator field values based on one or more characteristics of the atleast one carrier.

Determining module 1110 may include or be included in one or moreprocessors, such as processor 820 described above in relation to FIG. 8.Determining module 1110 may include analog and/or digital circuitryconfigured to perform any of the functions of determining module 1110and/or processor 820 described above. The functions of determiningmodule 1110 may, in certain embodiments, be performed in one or moredistinct modules. For example, in certain embodiments some of thefunctionality of determining module 1110 may be performed by anallocation module.

Communication module 1120 may perform the transmission functions ofnetwork node 115. As one example, communication module 1120 maycommunicate, to the wireless device on a first carrier of either thefirst or second groups, information related to a particular carrier inthe same group as the first carrier, wherein the particular carrier isidentified by its associated carrier indicator field value. As anotherexample, communication module 1120 may communicate, to the wirelessdevice, the carrier indicator field value associated with each of theconfigured carriers of the first and second groups. As still anotherexample, communication module 1120 may communicate, to the wirelessdevice, information indicating which of the configured carriers belongto the first group and which of the configured carriers belong to thesecond group, the communicated information further comprising thecarrier indicator field value associated with each of the configuredcarriers of the first and second groups. Communication module 1120 maytransmit messages to one or more of wireless devices 110. Communicationmodule 1120 may include a transmitter and/or a transceiver, such astransceiver 810 described above in relation to FIG. 8. Communicationmodule 1120 may include circuitry configured to wirelessly transmitmessages and/or signals. In particular embodiments, communication module1120 may receive messages and/or signals for transmission fromdetermining module 1110 or any other module.

Receiving module 1130 may perform the receiving functions of networknode 115. Receiving module 1130 may receive any suitable informationfrom a wireless device. Receiving module 1130 may include a receiverand/or a transceiver, such as transceiver 810 described above inrelation to FIG. 8. Receiving module 1130 may include circuitryconfigured to wirelessly receive messages and/or signals. In particularembodiments, receiving module 1130 may communicate received messagesand/or signals to determining module 1110 or any other suitable module.

Determining module 1110, communication module 1120, and receiving module1130 may include any suitable configuration of hardware and/or software.Network node 115 may include additional modules beyond those shown inFIG. 11 that may be responsible for providing any suitablefunctionality, including any of the functionality described above and/orany additional functionality (including any functionality necessary tosupport the various solutions described herein).

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the systems andapparatuses described herein without departing from the scope of thedisclosure. The components of the systems and apparatuses may beintegrated or separated. Moreover, the operations of the systems andapparatuses may be performed by more, fewer, or other components.Additionally, operations of the systems and apparatuses may be performedusing any suitable logic comprising software, hardware, and/or otherlogic. As used in this document, “each” refers to each member of a setor each member of a subset of a set.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the methodsdescribed herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Themethods may include more, fewer, or other steps. Additionally, steps maybe performed in any suitable order.

Although this disclosure has been described in terms of certainembodiments, alterations and permutations of the embodiments will beapparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above descriptionof the embodiments does not constrain this disclosure. Other changes,substitutions, and alterations are possible without departing from thespirit and scope of this disclosure, as defined by the following claims.

Abbreviations used in the preceding description include:

AP Access Point

BS Base Station

BSC Base Station Controller

BTS Base Transceiver Station

CA Carrier Aggregation

CBRA Contention Based Random Access

CC Component Carrier

CIF Carrier Indicator Field

CFRA Contention Free Random Access

CPE Customer Premises Equipment

D2D Device-to-device

DAS Distributed Antenna System

DL Downlink

eNB evolved Node B

FDD Frequency Division Duplex

LAA License Assisted Access

LAN Local Area Network

LEE Laptop Embedded Equipment

LME Laptop Mounted Equipment

LTE Long Term Evolution

M2M Machine-to-Machine

MAN Metropolitan Area Network

MCE Multi-cell/multicast Coordination Entity

MSR Multi-standard Radio

NAS Non-Access Stratum

PCell Primary Carrier

PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel

PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network

PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel

RNC Radio Network Controller

RRC Radio Resource Control

RRH Remote Radio Head

RRU Remote Radio Unit

SCell Secondary Carrier

TDD Time Division Duplex

UCI Uplink Control Information

UE User Equipment

UL Uplink

WAN Wide Area Network

1. A method in a network node, comprising: configuring a wireless devicewith a plurality of carriers, each of the plurality of carrierscomprising a communication channel between the wireless device and oneof the network node or another wireless device; grouping the configuredcarriers into at least a first group and a second group; associatingeach of the configured carriers of the first group with one of aplurality of possible carrier indicator field values such that each ofthe configured carriers of the first group has a different carrierindicator field value than other configured carriers in the first group;associating each of the configured carriers of the second group with oneof the plurality of possible carrier indicator field values such thateach of the configured carriers of the second group has a differentcarrier indicator field value than other configured carriers in thesecond group; and communicating, to the wireless device on a firstcarrier of either the first or second groups, information related to aparticular carrier in the same group as the first carrier, wherein theparticular carrier is identified by its associated carrier indicatorfield value.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information comprisesone or more of: a downlink scheduling assignment for the particularcarrier; an uplink scheduling grant for the particular carrier; asidelink grant for the particular carrier; and an order to performcontention free random access on the particular carrier.
 3. The methodof claim 1, comprising communicating, to the wireless device, thecarrier indicator field value associated with each of the configuredcarriers of the first and second groups.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the carrier indicator field value associated with each of theconfigured carriers of the first and second groups is communicated viaradio resource control signaling.
 5. The method of claim 1, comprisingcommunicating, to the wireless device, information indicating which ofthe configured carriers belong to the first group and which of theconfigured carriers belong to the second group, the communicatedinformation further comprising the carrier indicator field valueassociated with each of the configured carriers of the first and secondgroups.
 6. The method of claim 1, comprising: associating each of theconfigured carriers of the first group with one of a plurality ofpossible cell index values; and associating each of the configuredcarriers of the second group with one of the plurality of possible cellindex values.
 7. The method of claim 6, comprising configuring thewireless device to identify a carrier indicator field value for theparticular carrier based on the cell index value of the particularcarrier.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of theconfigured carriers is associated with a particular one of the pluralityof possible carrier indicator field values based on one or morecharacteristics of the at least one carrier.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein the one or more characteristics comprise one or more of: whetherthe at least one carrier is configured with a physical uplink controlchannel; and whether the at least one carrier is a scheduling cell. 10.A method in a wireless device, the method comprising: receiving, from anetwork node on a first carrier of either a first group of configuredcarriers or a second group of configured carriers, information relatedto a particular carrier in the same group as the first carrier, whereinthe wireless device is configured with a plurality of carriers, each ofthe plurality of carriers comprising a communication channel between thewireless device and one of the network node or another wireless device,and the particular carrier is associated with one of a plurality ofpossible carrier indicator field values; determining, based on the firstcarrier on which the information was received, whether the first carrierbelongs to the first group of configured carriers or the second group ofconfigured carriers; and identifying, based on the determined group thatthe first carrier belongs to and the carrier indicator field valueassociated with the particular carrier, one of the plurality ofconfigured carriers as the particular carrier.
 11. The method of claim10, wherein the information comprises one or more of: a downlinkscheduling assignment for the particular carrier; an uplink schedulinggrant for the particular carrier; a sidelink grant for the particularcarrier; and an order to perform contention free random access on theparticular carrier.
 12. The method of claim 10, comprising: receiving,from the network node, information indicating which one of a pluralityof possible carrier indicator field values is associated with each ofthe configured carriers of the first and second groups; and whereinidentifying one of the plurality of carriers as the particular carrieris based on the received information.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein the carrier indicator field value associated with each of theconfigured carriers of the first and second groups is received via radioresource control signaling.
 14. The method of claim 10, comprising:receiving, from the network node, information indicating which of theplurality of configured carriers belong to the first group and which ofthe configured carriers belong to the second group, the receivedinformation further comprising the carrier indicator field valueassociated with each of the configured carriers of the first and secondgroups; and wherein identifying one of the plurality of carriers as theparticular carrier is based on the received information.
 15. The methodof claim 10, wherein each of the configured carriers of the first andsecond groups are associated with one of a plurality of possible cellindex values, and the method comprises: associating each carrier of thefirst and second groups with one of a plurality of possible carrierindicator field values based on the cell index value associated witheach carrier; and wherein identifying one of the plurality of configuredcarriers as the particular carrier is based on the cell indicator fieldvalue associated with each carrier based on the cell index value. 16.The method of claim 15, wherein associating each carrier of the firstand second groups with one of the plurality of possible carrierindicator field values based on the cell index value associated witheach carrier comprises: associating a carrier having a lowest numericalcell index value of each of the first and second groups with a lowestnumerical carrier indicator field value; and associating additionalcarriers of each of the first and second groups with one of theplurality of possible cell indicator field values such that eachadditional carrier having a next lowest numerical cell index value isassociated with a next lowest numerical carrier indicator field value.17. The method of claim 15, wherein associating each carrier of thefirst and second groups with one of the plurality of possible carrierindicator field values based on the cell index value associated witheach carrier comprises: associating a carrier having a highest numericalcell index value of each of the first and second groups with a lowestnumerical carrier indicator field value; and associating additionalcarriers of each of the first and second groups with one of theplurality of possible cell indicator field values such that eachadditional carrier having a next highest numerical cell index value isassociated with a next lowest numerical carrier indicator field value.18. A network node, comprising: one or more processors, the one or moreprocessors configured to: configure a wireless device with a pluralityof carriers, each of the plurality of carriers comprising acommunication channel between the wireless device and one of the networknode or another wireless device; group the configured carriers into atleast a first group and a second group; associate each of the configuredcarriers of the first group with one of a plurality of possible carrierindicator field values such that each of the configured carriers of thefirst group has a different carrier indicator field value than otherconfigured carriers in the first group; associate each of the configuredcarriers of the second group with one of the plurality of possiblecarrier indicator field values such that each of the configured carriersof the second group has a different carrier indicator field value thanother configured carriers in the second group; and communicate, to thewireless device on a first carrier of either the first or second groups,information related to a particular carrier in the same group as thefirst carrier, wherein the particular carrier is identified by itsassociated carrier indicator field value.
 19. The network node of claim18, wherein the information comprises one or more of: a downlinkscheduling assignment for the particular carrier; an uplink schedulinggrant for the particular carrier; a sidelink grant for the particularcarrier; and an order to perform contention free random access on theparticular carrier.
 20. The network node of claim 18, wherein the one ormore processors are configured to communicate, to the wireless device,the carrier indicator field value associated with each of the configuredcarriers of the first and second groups.
 21. The network node of claim20, wherein the one or more processors are configured to communicate thecarrier indicator field value associated with each of the configuredcarriers of the first and second groups via radio resource controlsignaling.
 22. The network node of claim 18, wherein the one or moreprocessors are configured to communicate, to the wireless device,information indicating which of the configured carriers belong to thefirst group and which of the configured carriers belong to the secondgroup, the communicated information further comprising the carrierindicator field value associated with each of the configured carriers ofthe first and second groups.
 23. The network node of claim 18, whereinthe one or more processors are configured to: associate each of theconfigured carriers of the first group with one of a plurality ofpossible cell index values; and associate each of the configuredcarriers of the second group with one of the plurality of possible cellindex values.
 24. The network node of claim 23, wherein the one or moreprocessors are configured to configure the wireless device to identify acarrier indicator field value for the particular carrier based on thecell index value of the particular carrier.
 25. The network node ofclaim 18, wherein at least one of the configured carriers is associatedwith a particular one of the plurality of possible carrier indicatorfield values based on one or more characteristics of the at least onecarrier.
 26. The network node of claim 25, wherein the one or morecharacteristics comprise one or more of: whether the at least onecarrier is configured with a physical uplink control channel; andwhether the at least one carrier is a scheduling cell.
 27. A wirelessdevice, comprising: one or more processors, the one or more processorsconfigured to: receive, from a network node on a first carrier of eithera first group of configured carriers or a second group of configuredcarriers, information related to a particular carrier in the same groupas the first carrier, wherein the wireless device is configured with aplurality of carriers, each of the plurality of carriers comprising acommunication channel between the wireless device and one of the networknode or another wireless device, and the particular carrier isassociated with one of a plurality of possible carrier indicator fieldvalues; determine, based on the first carrier on which the informationwas received, whether the first carrier belongs to the first group ofconfigured carriers or the second group of configured carriers; andidentify, based on the determined group that the first carrier belongsto and the carrier indicator field value associated with the particularcarrier, one of the plurality of configured carriers as the particularcarrier.
 28. The wireless device of claim 27, wherein the informationcomprises one or more of: a downlink scheduling assignment for theparticular carrier; an uplink scheduling grant for the particularcarrier; a sidelink grant for the particular carrier; and an order toperform contention free random access on the particular carrier.
 29. Thewireless device of claim 27, wherein the one or more processors areconfigured to: receive, from the network node, information indicatingwhich one of a plurality of possible carrier indicator field values isassociated with each of the configured carriers of the first and secondgroups; and wherein the one or more processors configured to identifyone of the plurality of carriers as the particular carrier comprise oneor more processors configured to identify one of the plurality ofcarriers as the particular carrier based on the received information.30. The wireless device of claim 29, wherein the one or more processorsare configured to receive the carrier indicator field value associatedwith each of the configured carriers of the first and second groups viaradio resource control signaling.
 31. The wireless device of claim 27,wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive, from thenetwork node, information indicating which of the plurality ofconfigured carriers belong to the first group and which of theconfigured carriers belong to the second group, the received informationfurther comprising the carrier indicator field value associated witheach of the configured carriers of the first and second groups; andwherein the one or more processors configured to identify one of theplurality of carriers as the particular carrier comprise one or moreprocessors configured to identify one of the plurality of carriers asthe particular carrier based on the received information.
 32. Thewireless device of claim 27, wherein each of the configured carriers ofthe first and second groups are associated with one of a plurality ofpossible cell index values, and the one or more processors areconfigured to: associate each carrier of the first and second groupswith one of a plurality of possible carrier indicator field values basedon the cell index value associated with each carrier; and wherein theone or more processors configured to identify one of the plurality ofconfigured carriers as the particular carrier comprise one or moreprocessors configured to identify one of the plurality of configuredcarriers as the particular carrier based on the cell indicator fieldvalue associated with each carrier based on the cell index value. 33.The wireless device of claim 32, wherein the one or more processorsconfigured to associate each carrier of the first and second groups withone of the plurality of possible carrier indicator field values based onthe cell index value associated with each carrier comprise one or moreprocessors configured to: associate a carrier having a lowest numericalcell index value of each of the first and second groups with a lowestnumerical carrier indicator field value; and associate additionalcarriers of each of the first and second groups with one of theplurality of possible cell indicator field values such that eachadditional carrier having a next lowest numerical cell index value isassociated with a next lowest numerical carrier indicator field value.34. The wireless device of claim 32, wherein the one or more processorsconfigured to associate each carrier of the first and second groups withone of the plurality of possible carrier indicator field values based onthe cell index value associated with each carrier comprise one or moreprocessors configured to: associate a carrier having a highest numericalcell index value of each of the first and second groups with a lowestnumerical carrier indicator field value; and associate additionalcarriers of each of the first and second groups with one of theplurality of possible cell indicator field values such that eachadditional carrier having a next highest numerical cell index value isassociated with a next lowest numerical carrier indicator field value.